Daily Archive: December 18, 2012

Nothing too exciting has happened since Sunday. I’ve managed to only snap photos of studying and random food here-and-there. Sheesh, could I get more boring???!!!

This morning, I woke up at 6 to clear my email/Google reader, browse Pinterest, and finish studying for my astronomy final. I used YouTube video lectures from other universities to review some of the bigger topics (Theories of Relativity, Types of Galaxies, Big Bang Theory, etc.). The internet sure is handy!

I realized I would be more productive if I didn’t have the social medias tempting me, so I took my notes with me to the gym and studied while walking for an hour. Silly ol’ me found a way to get distracted though…….. as in, I actually favored watching ESPN’s Monday Night Football recaps over studying.

Anyways, the final went well! Then I ate lunch, took a one-hour nap, drowsily went to dance practice, learned a new Christmas routine for Thursday night’s game, grabbed dinner from the sorority house, and met up with a friend to study for statistics.

Once he left, I spent a bit longer at the sorority house studying with all my fellow sisters….. oh wait…………..

It’s a little hard to focus because 90% of students are done with fall semester finals, but come 10 AM tomorrow, I’ll be done as well! This is the final stretch!

Here’s a random collage of some of the healthier food from the day:

1- I’m kind of obsessed with this veggie juice from Fresh ‘n Easy. It’s getting me excited to use my juicer over break!

2- Greek yogurt and banana… a combination that will never get old. Someday I am going to make this, freeze it, and then eat it (kinda like froyo). Nevermind, who am I kidding… that won’t happen because I lack patience.

3- Dinner from the sorority was deeeeelicious! Broccoli, spring mix and mushrooms, and a piece of amazing pumpkin ricotta spinach lasagna.

Okay, time to hit the hay. I have an alarm set for 5:45 AM, so I can shower, study cram, and rock my 8 AM final!

Although you wouldn’t know it from the blog, I have been keeping up with this season of Next Iron Chef. Four episodes aired since I last posted about episode 3’s Simplicity challenge but you bet I’ve kept a close eye on my chef draft picks. #TeamAlex all the way.

I’m going to highlight the ups and downs of episodes 4, 5, and 6, which focus on Transformation, Risk, and Fusion (such serious episode names!). Seven chefs turned into four…. and soon there will be one!

Creepy Mehta got canned chicken. He vowed to make it stand out “like a lion.” Although his rice was mushy, the chicken pergora (?) with green curry got him through.

Falkner ended up with canned roast beef. I didn’t even know they put roast beef in cans. Gross! She made a “really good” red wince sauce with cognac, veal stock and paired it with roasted vegetables. She won.

Alex G-$ picked the canned ham and served the judges a sugar snap pea/ravioli dish with basil puree. It was good enough to keep her out of the bottom two.

Appleman ended up with canned tuna. He transformed it into tuna puttanesca (with ricotta gnocchi) and frozen tuna shards of some variety. The ofrozen canned tuna made him seem more “out of the box.”

Freitag struggled with opening her can of corned beef. Girl has trouble opening and closing things! She cooked mustard greens in bacon fat, potatoes in duck fat, and assembled an homage to real corned beef with mustard caviar and yorkshire pudding!!! Ooh la la.

However, it was Chef Spike’s lame vienna sausage Vietnamese crepe dish and Chef Spike’s clam “crazy water” pasta dish that landed them in the bottom two.

Turns out, these two are BEST FRIENDS FOR EVER AND EVER.

“We used to, like, throw frisbees and make gnocchi together.”

How romantic.

They were stoked to battle each other in the Secret Ingredient Showdown. Um, you guys know what “showdown” means, right?

They got the easiest ingredient ever… lobster.

Spike and Vigneron decided to put their creations on the same plate for judging. You kidding me??

“We came here together, we are going to play together, we might as well be judged together.”

Reaction from the chefs watching on…

Their reactions were so funny, I actually typed them out word-for-word:

Freitag: “What are you guys up to? What do you got going on there?… It’s not a good idea”.

Alex G-$: “What are they doing? They’re plating on the same plate. Wow. That is unprecedented.”

Falkner: “I’m so perplexed right now. I don’t even know what to say.”

And the best yet…

Appleman: “Good for them. I think it’s the worst decision they could have ever made. I think this is what’s going to send both of them home… I think they’re making a mockery of this competition. I think it’s going to blow up in their face.”

Don’t hold back, Nate!

The judges were not impressed by the 1 Plate Wonder. Zakarian felt they got played. The British guy said “silliness doesn’t show Iron Chef behavior.” And the chick said Spike and Vigneron made an arrogant decision.

The other chefs prepare calves’ heads (Vigneron), the exotic paiche fish (Falkner), and a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano (Freitag).

Since she won last week, Chef Falkner had the QUOTE UNQUOTE advantage of judging her competitors. Last season Anne Burrell had the same advantage, but she was sent home in the showdown against the very person she chose to send to the showdown. Twisted, huh?

Anyways, Falkner tasted everything and scribbled secretively on a piece of paper. Who would she send to the showdown????!!!

Then the chefs went to the real judges and this happened:

Alex G-$’s beef tongue theft got her through to next week, as did the souffles of Creepy Mehta and Freitag. SADLY, two of my favorites ended up in the Secret Ingredient Showdown.

Yes, Falkner put Appleman in the bottom 2 AND the judges put HER in the bottom 2. Just like last year! Semi-predictable, Food Network.

Both chefs were happy about the sardine secret ingredient, but only one could survive.

Might I remind you that Appleman is my #2 pick and Falkner is Andrew’s #2 pick? (Please excuse typo, below)

Although it pained the judges to make a call (I mean really, look at them), they sent Falkner home because she used too much saffron. It was emotional!

Sorry to see you go, Lizzie.

Girl needs her own show!

Episode 6 – Fusion

And now we’re in Las Vegas. How remote, NOT.

The 5 remaining chefs head to the Chapel at MGM for the Chairman’s Challenge.

Premise: each Iron Chef hopeful must be able to produce culinary bliss with ingredients that don’t at first seem to naturally juxtapose.

Alton reveals the ingredient lovers and then Vigneron assigns them to the chefs as his reward for winning last week.

Appleman, who never shows an ounce of kindness to his competitors, helped Freitag when she ONCE AGAIN could not close the pressure cooker lid. Like I said earlier, the lady can’t open and close things!

Jury’s still out on if I think Chef Vigneron is Iron Chef caliber. Clearly he acts like a caveman (or like I do when I have cake batter leftovers).

The chefs pranced around the small Nobhill Tavern kitchen, but it’s my #1 pick Alex G-$ that really brought her A-game to Vegas. Look how cute she looks! Girl is ready to hit up the clubs.

Their “fusion” offerings… which food pair needed a prenup?

That looks like a winning squid/marshmallow dish to me!

Creepy Mehta stripped the skittle down a little too far, even for Vegas standards.

Alex G-$ played it safe, once again, but her charm and peppermint candy balsamic vinegar salad dressing got her through to the next round.

OMG the judges loved this. No kidding, it’s PEANUT BUTTER and CHEESE!

Appleman’s “crazy water” just wasn’t crazy-good. Did anyone else notice how Appleman made the same type of dish that saved Vigneron in the Best Friend Battle of episode 4?

Surprisingly, Freitag won!

Her reaction is fairly cookie-cutter.

Appleman and Creepy Mehta head to the Secret Ingredient Showdown: shrimp, teppanyaki style!